Main article: Epistemology

Dignaga founded Buddhist epistemology (pramana)

Epistemology is the study of knowledge (Greek episteme).[59] Epistemologists study the putative
sources of knowledge, including intuition, a priori reason, memory, perceptual knowledge, self-
knowledge and testimony. They also ask: What is truth? Is knowledge justified true belief? Are any
beliefs justified? Putative knowledge includes propositional knowledge (knowledge that something is
the case), know-how (knowledge of how to do something) and acquaintance (familiarity with
someone or something). Epistemologists examine these and ask whether knowledge is really
possible.

Skepticism is the position which doubts claims to knowledge. The regress argument, a fundamental
problem in epistemology, occurs when, in order to completely prove any statement, its justification
itself needs to be supported by another justification. This chain can go on forever, called infinitism, it
can eventually rely on basic beliefs that are left unproven, called foundationalism, or it can go in a
circle so that a statement is included in its own chain of justification, called coherentism.

Rationalism is the emphasis on reasoning as a source of knowledge. It is associated with a priori

knowledge, which is independent of experience, such as math and logical deduction. Empiricism is
the emphasis on observational evidence via sensory experience as the source of knowledge.